Balloons are popular novelty items. At present, balloons are sold in two widely available forms, namely, those made of latex and those typically made of a polymer metallized film generally known as "Mylar". "Mylar" is a registered trademark of DuPont. Latex balloons are stretchable and may be sold either collapsed or inflated. "Mylar" balloons are not stretchable and may have a relatively long neck or stem. "Mylar" balloons are usually sold in inflated form, but may not be. Whether sold in inflated or uninflated form, "Mylar" balloons are usually filled to the desired pressure with air or helium and then sealed by: (a) tying the neck off with a string or the like, (b) using a clip or a cup and stick support assembly which crimps the neck and (c) heat sealing or (d) using a self-sealing valve. Regardless of the techniques for sealing that are used such balloons when filled with air may thereafter be adapted to be supported or held by means of a holder which is typically a funnel-shaped plastic cup formed at one end of a stick or a plastic shaft or the like and having means such as apertures or slots for use in securing the balloon to the cup and stick. Such holders are normally used with balloons having a diameter under about 18 inches when filled with air and which are usually sealed with heat.
Balloon holders heretofore have come in various forms. Balloon holders for "Mylar" balloons have heretofore been virtually identical to holders designed for or used with latex balloons prior to the advent of "Mylar" balloons. "Mylar" balloons of nine (9) inch and four (4) inch diameters with a self-sealing valve (recently manufactured by Convertidora Industrial, S.A. de c. v. of Mexico) also use a separate cup for support of the body of the balloon. The most popular type of balloon holder consists of a funnel-shaped cup for receiving and crimping the neck of a balloon to seal and/or secure the same. The cup is sometimes integrally attached to a stick by which the balloon is held. The cup is typically provided with a plurality of holes or slots for engaging the neck of the balloon to crimp the neck both to seal the same and/or to secure the balloon to the cup. By way of example, the neck of the balloon is threaded through and wound around the slotted cup and secured to the holder near its end. The body of the balloon is thereby intended to nest into and be supported by the funnel-shaped cup of the balloon holder. Still another type of balloon holder known heretofore, referred to as the "clip'n stick", consists of a stick with an integral loop and clip to seal and/or secure the balloon and its inlet portion.
Such prior types of balloon holders are difficult to manipulate, particularly when the balloon has been inflated (and not sealed) and one is attempting to tie off the neck by threading it through and securing it to the cup end of the holder. In addition, no matter how it is secured to the slotted cup, the balloon is not thereby firmly secured and a tendency for the balloon to disassociate itself from the cup and stick with time has heretofore been apparent. As the balloon gets loose, it is no longer centered on the holder, it tends to flop around more and more with time and may even begin to deflate if not otherwise sealed. Refilling of the balloon is cumbersome with such prior types of holders. In contrast, the present invention, when combining an inflating straw with a self-sealing valve, may be easily deflated and reinflated, when desirable or necessary. The cup and the tied-off neck of the balloon are, moreover, unsightly. Further, the rigid sticks can injure a child who falls on it; whereas the present invention uses a flexible straw which bends under slight pressure before it can puncture clothing and/or flesh. Finally, no matter how they are manufactured, the cup or non-stick portion of such balloon holders have been known heretofore to add undesirable cost to both the overall manufacturing and commercializing processes.
There are other disadvantages to the prior type of plastic cup balloon holder. These include the fact that such prior types of holders use "precious" petroleum-based plastic and constitute non-degradable waste when disposed. In addition, the difficulty of attaching the holders to the balloons has heretofore frequently placed the burden of doing so on manufacturers or distributors in advance of sale to the retailer, thereby necessitating inflation of the balloons and attachment of the cup and stick to the inflated balloon before transporting the product and increasing the cost and the storage space required to handle the product prior to sale. This difficulty has also discouraged or prevented virtually any meaningful sales of uninflated "Mylar" balloons to consumers. The present invention facilitates end user, (including children) inflation; thus providing a safe alternative to the life threatening risks of latex balloons. The U.S. government's Consumer Product Safety Counsel's August 1988 "Safety Alert on Balloon Suffocation" described as the "leading cause of accidental choking-related deaths in children under 10 years of age". As a result of this "Safety Alert" the Toy Manufacturer's Association of America members print the following on balloon packages: "SAFETY WARNING": young children could choke or be suffocated by an uninflated balloon or a piece of a broken balloon. Adults should inflate balloons and supervise their use with children under six (6) years. DISCARD BROKEN BALLOONS IMMEDIATELY!" No such warning is required for mylar balloons.